Author
Interview: Chris Mason
Book
Title and Subtitle: Tutor in a Box: The Guide to the Best Free
Education Resources on the Internet
Genre: Nonfiction, Education
Tell us a bit about
yourself.
My name is Chris Mason and for the
last 20 years I have been a house husband raising three kids with special
needs. During this time I received my Bachelors in Psychology and a Master’s in
Education. Due to the fact that all my children went to an online charter
school, I had to find ways to save money and found many free resources through
the internet. In fact I still think it is funny when I first asked my
daughter’s teachers for resources that could help her when she first entered
the world of Online schooling, I only received 3 websites. I thought 3 websites
from 6 teachers was a sad state of affairs, so Tutor in a Box was born. That
was years ago now. My eldest daughter was in sixth grade then, now she is a
sophomore in college.
My other books were born out of two
things that happened at the same time. First, my family had to give up cable to
save money but my kids still wanted to see the then popular That’s so Raven.
Second, my mother came up with Mason Day to teach my kids that they did not
need a lot of money to give someone a nice gift. Mason Day was when a person
was assigned a family member and had to make them something, spending only 20
dollars. My thought was “Oh my God”. I had no artistic skills like my
daughters’ and could not build things like my son, but I did have impressive
research skills. So the “In the Box” series of books was born. All are
reference guides to the best free stuff in a particular area. The series
currently includes:
Tutor in a Box - A guide to free educational
resources.
Book Store in a Box - A guide to
free print and audio books.
Arcade in a Box – A guide to free
video games.
Video store in a Box – A guide to
free Television and Movies.
Record Store – A guide to free music
What is one of your
favorite positive sayings or quotes?
I have several but my favorite
educational quote is “Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.”
William Butler Yeats
Who or What inspired
you to start writing this book?
My kids were the major
inspiration for Tutor in a Box.
What three words would you use to describe this book?
Educational Resource Guide.
Who is your target group for this book?
The average overworked
soccer mom and any child struggling in school.
Tell us about this book.
Are
you one of the 1.5 Million children being educated in an alternative school
setting (Virtual School Home School or Independent Study)?
Are
you one of the thousands of parents who spends their Saturdays at the local
coffee shop with other parents trying to figure out their kid’s homework so you
can help?
Are
you tired of educators telling you there are resources on the internet but not
where they are?
Would
you like to put fun back into your child’s education?
If
you answered yes to any of the questions then Tutor in the Box is for you. This
resource rich book will show you where the best education resources are on the
internet. The book is set up like a fictional school day with the following
sections:
Math
Language
Recess
(Education games)
Social
Studies
Art
and Music
Science
Virtual
Field Trips
Continuing
Education (Free how to videos and college lectures)
Computer
Programs
Free
Clipart and Sound Effects
So, if educational resources are what you’re looking for there is a tutor in the
box you call a computer just waiting to help a person in need.
What do you hope people will gain from reading this book?
I
hope readers gain back some lost time as well as putting some fun back into
learning.
Is your book in Print, ebook or both?
Tutor in a
Box is available as an E-Book at all major retailers.
What advice would you give to other Writers?
I
guess I would start with write what you know about and what you are truly
passionate about. Basically write for you yourself passion for the subject will
attract others. Next, have a picture of your target customer in mind for me at
least it helps. Last bit of advice pick the format that best suits your
subject. My books work better as E-books. Not every book works well in every
format.
Tell us the link where potential readers can buy this book.
My
book is available at:
Smashwords
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/423745
Is there anything else you would like to share about this book?
I
am working on two more titles in the series due out Christmas of this year…
Production
Studio in a Box: The Guide to make DVD, CD Websites and other Media at Low or
No Cost and Entrepreneur in a Box: The Guide to the best Free Websites to Make
Money.
Like
me as an author at Smashwords to find out more about me and my books.
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/digitalattic
While
you are there pick up "Record Store in a Box", it’s Free at all
retailers but Amazon.
I
am always looking for free resources on the internet. If a reader of this
article has a resource they think is good email me. I will give contributor
credit in my next edition. I have found many people have question about the
topic of free resources. If any reader has any question on this topic feel free
to email me@ digitalattic95@gmail.com.
Thank you so much for taking the
time to do this interview and allowing us a glimpse into your world.
Plan2Win
